Combination crib and play pen



May 27, 1941. M. BAKALAR COMBINATION CRIB AND PLAY PEN Filed Aug. 51, 1958 v A I Patented May 27, 1941 UNETED STATES PATEN'I` @FFME l 2,243,691 Y Y COMBINATIN CREE AND PLAY PEN Margaret Bakalar, Fort Wayne, Ind. Application August 31, 1938, Serial No. 2527,6l9

(lor. sass) A 6 Claims.

The invention relates to a childs bed or cribv -sons living in an apartment or the like where space is at a premium. It is usual to provide a separate play pen and crib for a child, each of which takes up a considerable amountof room. Even where the play pen is foldable it is bulky and occupies a large amount of. space and is heavy and dicult to move about. The usual childs bed or crib is of adequate area for a child to play but does not provide the proper kind of foundation or flooring and is consequently useless for this purpose as a mattress or spring is too soft and yielding to stand on, especially for a child whose footing is uncertain. The bed clothing is an additional handicap to such use as it must first be removed or pulled back out of the way.

To overcome these diiculties I provide a bed with the usual springs and mattress and having a play pen iioor or base which is adapted to be pushed under the mattress when not desired for use but which may be quickly and easily brought or pulled out of its storage space and locked in position above the mattress where it will provide a safe, steady floor on which the child may play, walk, crawl or the like, and

without in any way interfering with. the bed clothes or requiring their removal from the bed.

Further objects are to provide a play pen the iioor of which is entirely free of floor draughts or the like and which will provide a clear, safe place for a child to play.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities will later more fully appear or are inherent in the device.

My invention further resides in the combination, construction and arrangements of parts i1- lustrated in the accompanying drawing, Vand while I have shown therein a preferred embodiment, I wish it understood that the same is susceptible of'modification and change without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a View in perspective of a childs bedV equipped with my invention. Certain parts have not been shown for the sake of clarity,

Fig. 2 is a side view in vertical cross section of the middle section of the bed with the floor of the play pen in position for use.V

Fig. 3 is a similar viewbut withltheplay penA floor in its storage position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical'. cross sectional view taken onfthe line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a'vertica'l cross sectional view taken on'the ,line 5 5 of Fig. 2, and showing the springs and mattress in place.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary View in perspective of a corner of the bed.

Referring more particularly to the embodiment shown in the drawing, the novel bed is shown at I as comprising corner posts 2, side panels 3 and 4 and end panels 5 and 6. These panels are preferably provided with a relatively high or deep bottom rail, above which are vertical bars or slats and a tcp rail, the slats and top rail above the panel 3 not being shown. The corner posts may be provided with casters or other means to facilitate easy moving of the bed. The bed may be made integral as shown or the panels may be made'separate and provided with the customary means for joining them together in the home or place where they are to be set up for use.

The lower rails of the side panels 3 and 4 are each provided with a horizontal groove or race 'l which extends substantially the length of the panel near theA top thereof and lgroove or race 8 near the'bottom of the panel and which extends from a point near one end of the panel to a point near the other end, where it curves upwardly at Illto Yloe joined with the upper groove or race 'l. Thecurved portion lll of grooves 8 is Wider than the remainder of this groove and increases iri Width toward its upper end. The grooves or races consequently provide one continuous channel or raoeway extending from near the top of an end of the rail to the other end, Y

downwardly and back along the bottom of the rail to near the starting end and form a continuous track or raceway for supporting the edges of the play pen floor ll which is slidable therein and which comprises closely laid slats or boards l2 connected or pivoted together by hinges or the like I3. Between the grooves 1 and 3 are positioned the spring lll@ and mattress lill (see Fig. 5)v of the bed, whichk are supported on the panels in any manner well known to the art, such as by ledges H02 on the side panels.

, Toadditionally support the iioor ll when in operative position in the groove 'l above the mattress, l provide bar lA which is adapted to be inserted in opening l5 of end panel 5 and extended to cross bar I6 near the other end panel. This'cross bar is provided with notch l'l toreceive theend of bar l 4, which is of suiiicient length to extend from panel 5 to cross bar l Y' and is supported by these members at its ends, When not in use bar I4 is stored on the inner side of panel 4 where it is held in place by means of clips I8.

As shown in Fig. 3, the floor is pushed back to be completely received in groove 8 when the bed is to be used for sleeping. When it is desired to be used for a play pen the bar I4 is removed from its storage space and extended from end panel 5 to cross bar I6 as heretofore described. This bar I4 not only provides an additional support for the iioor but serves to hold down the bedding to prevent it from interfering with the roll-type floor II in its movement. The floor is then pulled from its position in grooves 8 under the mattress to grooves 'I above the mattress. Grooves 8 stopshort of one end of the bed as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so that the floor will not s disappear under the mattress and springs when in inoperative position, but extend to a point near the top of portions I0 of grooves 8 so as to facilitate grasping one end .of the floor and raising it into operative position. Handle I9 is provided to assist the initial movement of the floor to its upper position.

Means are provided to lock the Viioor in its upper position comprising L-shaped block 20 slidable in groove 2| in the inner side of panel 4 between panel 6 and cross bar I6 and having tongue or projection 22 extending through and slidable in a slot or channel 23 in panel 4. At the end of this tongue and extending exteriorly of the bed, is a knob 24 for the operator to grasp to manually move the block 20. In panel 6 is opening 25 for receiving the other` end of block 20, which is provided with curved or tapered end 26.

While the floor is in grooves 8 the block 20 is at the inner end of slot 23 and contacting cross bar I6, its curved or tapered end 26 being flush with the inner portion of groove I0 so as not to interfere with the movement of the floor. When the floor is moved to the outer end of grooves 'I the block 20 is pushed by means of knob 24 until its end 26 engages and raises the last slat and this end is inserted intoopening 25 in panel 5. At this point the last board I2 of the floor rests on the block 20 and is prevented from further movement and locked in position thereby. By reason of its curved or tapered end 26 the block 20 will not catch on the boards I2 of the oor when` pushed into locking position, at which time these end boards are at an angle to each other. The panel 3 may be provided with a similar locking mechanism if desired.

It will be seen that I have provided an article of furniture that may be used as a bed or as a play pen, that the play pen is safe, clean and well above all floor draughts and the like, that the slats or bars on the sides and ends of the bed will protect the child from falling out of the device when in either use, that the conversion from play pen to bed and vice versa may be easily and quickly accomplished, that much less floor area is required than when a separate pen and bed are used and that the device eliminates the usual storing of a separate play pen heretofore Having thus disclosed my invention, I claim:

1. A combination childs bed and play pen comprising a bedstead having side and end rails, and a spring and mattress therein, grooves in each side rail above and below the mattress and spring and communicating at one end thereof,

a roll-type play pen iioor comprising articulated members forming the surface for the support of the child, mounted in said grooves and adapted to be moved from one to the other, and means for additionally supporting the floor when in operative position above the spring and mattress, said means preventing interference of the bed clothes on the mattress with the movement of the floor, said floor being permanently and movably attached to said bed.

2. A combination childs bed and play pen comprising a bedstead having side and end rails, grooves in the upper and lower portion of said side rails and communicating at one end thereof, spring and mattress supported between said grooves, a roll-type play pen floor movably mounted in said grooves, means for locking the floor in the upper groove, said locking means comprising a block adjacent the communicating rend of a side rail and positioned out of the path of the floor, and means for moving the block to a position under the iioor end and against the end rail after the floor has been moved into the upper groove to lock the floor in said upper groove and support the floor end therein.

3. A combination childs bed and play pen comprising a bedstead having side and end rails, and a spring and mattress therein, grooves in each side rail above and below the mattress and spring and communicating at one end thereof, a roll-type play pen floor mounted in said grooves and adapted to be moved from one to the other, a cross bar adjacent an end rail and attached to the side rails and a bar adapted to be extended from the cross bar to the farther end rail to additionally support the floor when in operative position.

4. A new article of furniture comprising a childs bed, means forming a sleeping surface, a play pen floor movably mounted therein comprising articulated members forming the surface for the support of a child, means for-storing the floor in the lower part of the bed when the latter is used for sleeping purposes and beneath said sleeping surface, and means whereby the iioor in the bed may be moved into operative position, above said sleeping surface in the upper part of the bed when the latter converted into a play pen, said oor being permanently and movably mounted in said bed and means for holding in xed horizontal positionA all of said articulated members when the surface comprising said articulated members is used as a childs play pen floor, said surface substantially filling the space within said play pen.

. 5. A combination childs bed and play pen comprising a bedstead having spring and mattress and a play pen floor movably mounted therein, comprising articulated members forming the surface for the support of a child, means whereby the floor may be stored below the spring and mattress when the bed is used for sleeping purposes, and means whereby the oor may be moved in the bed and into operative position above the mattress when the bed is converted into a play pen, said oor being permanently and movably attached toV said bed, and means for holding in iixed horizontal position all of said articulated members when the surface comprising said articulated members is used as a childs play pen floor, said surface substantially filling the space within the play pen. l

6. A combination childs bed and play pen p comprising a bedstead having side and end rails,

said bedstead having a member providing a sleeping surface, communicating grooves in the lower and upper portions of the side rails, and a rolltype play pen oor comprising articulated members forming the surface for the support of a child mounted in the grooves and adapted to be moved from one to the other, whereby in operative position said iioor is located in said upper grooves and above said sleeping surface, and

when in said lower grooves, said floor is located beneath said sleeping surface, said floor being permanently and movably attached to said bed, and means for holding the end articulated members in substantially abutting relation to the said end rails when the device is used as a childs play pen.

MARGARET BAKALAR. 

